What's the most unusual bird you've seen on a seawatch? (1 Viewer)

gordon hamlett · Oct 11, 2004

Seawatching off Portland Bill one May, we had been watching the odd Manx Shearwater and Storm Petrel when I picked up an all-dark petrel flying low over the waves.

Great excitement was quickly tempered when I realised that there were hundreds of them! They turned out to be migrating swifts. When you see a bird away from where you expect to see it, the brain just doesn't compute - or at least mine doesn't.

Having said that, we have had some great sights there including a Montagu's Harrier in-off, a dark-rumped petrel (genuine this time) and perhaps my favourite, a Pied Flycatcher that actually made its first landfall on my tripod! It was pouring with rain at the time and I looked at it, and it looked at me and you could almost feel it saying to itself 'Sod it. I've got this wrong' before flying off in disgust.

Gordon

Cuckoo-shrike · Oct 11, 2004

Darrell Clegg said:
I had a brown cow complete with yellow ear tag from the Plymouth - Santander ferry a few years ago. I also had a Bittern crossing the Bay of Biscay on the same trip.

Darrell

Waddya mean "brown" Darrell? Couldn't you get it down to species???
Andy

Darrell Clegg · Oct 11, 2004

Aquila said:
Waddya mean "brown" Darrell? Couldn't you get it down to species???
Andy

You're right Andy, I should have tried harder.

I suppose the fact that we were somewhere off Jersey at the time might narrow it down a bit

Darrell

Cuckoo-shrike · Oct 11, 2004

Okay, I mean breed or whatever. Come to think of it though, and at the risk of upsetting the mods for veering slightly off-topic, what is the name of the species that we call cow or bull, for which the plural term is "Cattle"?
Andy

David FG · Oct 11, 2004

Aquila said:
Okay, I mean breed or whatever. Come to think of it though, and at the risk of upsetting the mods for veering slightly off-topic, what is the name of the species that we call cow or bull, for which the plural term is "Cattle"?
Andy

It's Bos taurus (not the most imaginative scientific name ever!)

Edward woodwood · Oct 11, 2004

SEO, LEO, Goldcrest

Snow Bunts, Pinkfeet and Whooper Swans in Norfolk

Melodious Warbler (but it was off Spain)

200 Whiskered terns in Jakarta Bay one day were a nice suprise

13 Oriental Honey Buzzards in off over Komodo were quite exotic too

Cuckoo-shrike · Oct 11, 2004

David FG said:
It's Bos taurus (not the most imaginative scientific name ever!)

Thanks David, so what is it in English? Cow, I presume, which also isn't too imaginative!
Andy

Birdspotter · Oct 11, 2004

Five huge birds picked up far out off barns Ness,Lothian a couple of years back had us thinking of Cranes, however as they got closer they were Grey Herons.

David FG · Oct 11, 2004

Aquila said:
Thanks David, so what is it in English? Cow, I presume, which also isn't too imaginative!
Andy

Domestic Cow I fear - which is not only dull, it is also not very accurate: not many people keep cattle in their houses!

Edward woodwood · Oct 11, 2004

Flying Fish!!!

I'll never forget those......again, I hope!

John Cantelo · Oct 11, 2004

I don't think Short-eared Owl or Woodcock are that unusual. Jason's Hoopoe takes some beating. For curiosity value a Mandarin flying past at Reculver last week has to be one of the most confusing!
John

David Bryant · Oct 11, 2004

Birdspotter said:
Five huge birds picked up far out off barns Ness,Lothian a couple of years back had us thinking of Cranes, however as they got closer they were Grey Herons.

Oh yeah! 100+ Jays in off at Cley and 7 Purple Herons while waiting at Salthouse to see a Chestnut-sided Bunting!

David FG · Oct 11, 2004

John Cantelo said:
I don't think Short-eared Owl or Woodcock are that unusual. Jason's Hoopoe takes some beating. For curiosity value a Mandarin flying past at Reculver last week has to be one of the most confusing!
John

I agree that a Woodcock is not nearly as rare as a Hoopoe, but one would not be totally surprised to see a Hoopoe coming 'in off' (how else would it get to the UK?) but I do not expect to see a Woodcock doing the same - just as I would be surprised to see a Turnstone in a wood.

Jos Stratford · Oct 11, 2004

Strangest thing I've seen when going off to seawatch was my first winter out here in Lithuania - coincidently their coldest winter for 40 years. Got to my chosen spot, a regular haunt for Steller's Eider, then spotted something strange - no sea!!! The preceding weeks of down to -30 had turned it to an ice field, completed with frozen waves! Walked out about 100 metres, then decided would be a bit dodgy further out.
From the pier, finally manged to see a bit of sea ...bobbing between sheets of ice!

Heard of unsuccessful seawatches, but this really took the biscuit!

Birdspotter · Oct 11, 2004

Seen today at hound Point was a migrating Tufted duck, although thats not unusual in its self it was in the company of 4 Guillemots !!
They flew west past the point in a tight formation then they all flew back east some five minutes later.

Friends of mine take great delight in telling me of a seawatch off St Agnes on Scilly when a Grey Cheeked Thrush came in off the sea.

Bluetail · Oct 11, 2004

I wasn't actually seawatching at the time, but a mate and I once had a Long-eared Owl in off at Prawle. The thing was so knackered it promptly squatted on a rock under one of the outcrops and spent the morning there in full view. Never had views like that before or since.

I suppose my most unusual bird seen while actually seawatching was Britain's first "Soft-plumaged Petrel" - at least it was at the time. Not being well connected I didn't know that it had already been seen the previous day - in fact I'd never even heard of the species before it was called. Can't think of any birding experience guaranteed to wake you up so much as someone calling a bird that's not on the British List.

Chigrl · Oct 12, 2004

Docmartin said:
There's another Meinertzhagen story where he was on the coast at Haifa (eastern Med) and saw what he assumed to be a Monk Seal in the distance on the beach. So he stalked it and was about to take aim, when it got up and revealed itself as the wife of one of his senior officers, skinny dipping while her husband looked on.

:-O Skinny dipping monk seal!? Too funny!

very boring banned member · Oct 12, 2004

jurek said:
Not exactly seawatching, but wild boar tracks coming from the sea in Poland. They must have swim 10+ km of shallow sea between Hel and Rewa, with one sandbar as the possible resting point.

Here are unconfirmed observations over Sus scropha coming over eastern Gulf Of Finland from Estonia to Finland. Wintertime it is largely possible to do it on ice.

Jos Stratford said:
then spotted something strange - no sea!!! The preceding weeks of down to -30 had turned it to an ice field

On good winters (enough cold) we use to drive with cars to that island I mentioned in my previous post. The island is located six kilometres offshore.

Alan henry · Oct 12, 2004

Watching Sooty Shearwaters, Black Browed Albatrosses, Wilsons Petrel,
Southern Giant Petrels,

when two Roseatte Spoonbills flew in off the sea

At the time there had been less than 5 Falkland records.

they were joined by another 3 the next day

Alan

John o'Sullivan · Oct 12, 2004

Not strictly seawatching but lying on a beach in crete mid afternoon two days running birds arriving overhead off the sea inc no's of black kite, honey buzzard, steppe buzzard, purple and grey heron, little egret, squacco heron, night heron and a single spoonbill. whilst offshore large flocks of coasting gargeny.

What's the most unusual bird you've seen on a seawatch? (1 Viewer)

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